Guide
COP29 will be held in Azerbaijan in November. Attracting investment for the green transition, diversifying their economies and moving away from dependence on oil and gas exports are urgent needs in many developing countries, including Azerbaijan. Economic growth and environmental protection are not contradictory and can develop in tandem. The recent establishment of a strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and China has opened up new opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in areas such as renewable energy and green technologies.
Author
Shahmar Hajiyev is a senior advisor at · Baku's Center for International Relations and Analysis, Azerbaijan
Edoardo Monaco· Member of the Club of Rome China Committee
On July 3, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Astana Summit, the Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership was released, opening up new opportunities for the development of bilateral relations between the two countries in a wide range of areas, including renewable energy and green technologies.
Azerbaijan is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 35 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. To achieve this, renewables will offer the most potential low-carbon solutions. By 2030, the installed capacity of new energy power generation will account for 30% of the country's total installed capacity.
In recent years, accelerating the use of renewable energy has become a key component of Azerbaijan's energy and foreign policy. In the context of strengthening international cooperation to promote the country's green energy transition, Azerbaijan has strengthened cooperation links with global energy companies such as Saudi International Power and Water Company, United Kingdom Petroleum Company, Japan's TEPCO Design Co., Ltd. and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company.
Chinese energy companies are also increasingly active in Azerbaijan. For instance, the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan and China Gezhouba Group Overseas Investment Co., Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding in 2023 to implement renewable energy projects with an installed capacity of 2 billion watts. In addition, China is also a market leader in Azerbaijan's electric vehicle industry. From 2025 to 2028, the Azerbaijan government will buy 200 electric buses (assembled locally) from BYD Group each year, some of which will be put into service in November this year, during the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
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COP29 in Azerbaijan marked international recognition of Azerbaijan's international standing, importance in the global energy market, and its role in the modern decarbonization transition. As happened at COP28 in Dubai, U.A.E., last year, having a major oil and gas producer like Azerbaijan host such an important climate change conference has raised some questions and criticism.
But it is also worth noting that the COP can go a long way towards diversifying the host country's local economy. Indeed, Azerbaijan, like many other oil-exporting countries, has an urgent need to diversify its economy and is therefore focusing on attracting technology and sustainable industrial investment as the foundation of the country's long-term stability and prosperity. As a result, tourism has become one of the priority sectors in Azerbaijan's non-oil economy, and hosting international events such as COP29 can greatly contribute to infrastructure development, demonstrate Azerbaijan's attractiveness as a tourist destination, and promote socio-economic mobility and inclusiveness.
The conference can also promote capacity building and knowledge sharing, which are necessary for Azerbaijan and many other developing countries around the world to address serious environmental challenges.
Involving the oil and gas producing countries of the Global South directly in the climate conference is significant and helps to make them indispensable enablers of climate change mitigation. Holding summits in these countries can significantly accelerate their transition to renewable energy and sustainable practices, demonstrating that economic growth and environmental sustainability can go hand in hand, rather than being a matter of choice, as in the past. Moreover, many critics have pointed out that climate dialogue in such countries is "inherently" contradictory and can hinder the outcome of the meeting. Most of these criticisms come from developed countries, which for decades have reaped the dividends of development by importing and consuming large quantities of fossil fuels; What an irony that now they are turning around and making irresponsible remarks about energy-producing countries!
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Many of the Global South's oil and gas exporters, including Azerbaijan, relied heavily on selling their limited natural resources to energy-consuming countries for economic development, and at one point that depended dangerously. Like any other country in the world, these countries will be affected by the effects of climate change, sometimes severely.
Most importantly, these countries are home to not only "fossil fuel lobbies" (which, in fact, are spread all over the world), but also large and vibrant populations that share the same desire for sustainable, inclusive progress and overall well-being. For them, it is not only in their interest to participate in much-needed global climate action, in which China has played a prominent role, but also in their legitimate right – they have the right to speak out and make a meaningful contribution to the green transition. As Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev himself recently called for, for them, the transition is critical and far-reaching.
Azerbaijan's increasingly close relations with China have provided good support for all-round exchanges between Central Asia, the South Caucasus and China, and further promoted the "Belt and Road" cooperation and the construction of a "middle corridor" connecting China and the European market to serve the sustainable development interests of all parties. The Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan and the National Energy Administration of China signed a memorandum of understanding in 2023 to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the fields of electricity, oil and gas, renewable energy, etc. The agreement underscores the two countries' commitment to promoting mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as the potential for significant progress in these key areas.
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